


Yarn Spinner

by Jigglypuffpastry (Mayasato)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Love Potion/Spell, Swearing, no reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:31:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7761583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayasato/pseuds/Jigglypuffpastry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which a LadyNoir fan in denial becomes hellbent on getting her favorite power couple together, no matter what it takes.</p><p>Features Ladybug getting hit by an Akuma's powers, for once, and Chat Noir struggling to guide a lovestruck, stuttering Ladybug towards victory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Message from Anonymous:  
ZOMG I COULDN’T SLEEP LAST NIGHT BECAUSE I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR ARE TOGETHER!!!! YOU ARE A GENIUS AND MY SAVIOR AND THE MOTHER OF ALL LADYNOIR_

Océane smiled at her laptop screen, humming in delight at the praise. She knitted a few stiches of her current project, a Ladybug-themed beanie, while thinking of a response. She set down her needles and let her fingers fly across the keyboard.

_MademoiselleCoccinelle replied:  
Aren’t they just the cutest????? I used to think I wanted Chat Noir to be MY bf until I realized just how perfect he is with Ladybug!! They’re seriously heavenly and I’m glad I could help you find the light my child_

The celebrity couple of Ladybug and Chat Noir (known colloquially as “LadyNoir” among the in-crowd) was, shortly put, the center of Océane’s life. There didn’t exist a single person in Paris who disliked the superhero duo, seeing as they had probably saved every Parisian’s life at least once. The online fan communities, however, were especially dedicated. Océane, being one of the earlier LB fans, managed to get monopoly of the online handle “Mademoiselle Coccinelle,” and was currently known across the fandom as a major producer of Ladybug-Chat Noir knitted goods. She spent the better part of her day knitting LadyNoir themed scarves, sweaters, and beanies to sell, making a profit, and using said profits to commission LadyNoir fan pieces. And when she said fan pieces, she usually meant those of the more… smutty variety. She was as desperate as they came.

But could you blame her? LadyNoir had to be, without a doubt, the couple of the century. Imagine the two ideal members of each sex—that was Ladybug and Chat Noir. Capable, smart, funny, gallant, and super hot to boot. They were far out of everybody else’s league.

 _Which only makes them more perfect for each other,_ Océane thought delightedly. It had never been publicly confirmed that they were dating, but the subtext was so extremely suggestive, it was hard to think they could be anything else.

The chime of a small bell sounded from the computer, and Océane immediately clicked the LadyBlog notification that appeared on her laptop screen. Better and faster than nearly any news source, the LadyBlog was her most frequently visited site, but the title on the recently updated post made her gasp.

_“Chat Noir and I Are Partners and Friends, but Nothing More”: LadyNoir Debunked!_

###### 

“This is so dumb!” Alya snarled, fingers violently jabbing at the screen of her phone. Class had only just ended, and already she’d whipped up her LadyBlog on her web browser, looking through the comments people left on her posts.

Marinette giggled at her friend’s antics. “What’s up?”

Alya sighed. “Marinette, do you think Ladybug and Chat Noir are a couple?”

“What?! No!” she sputtered. “Th-they’re partners, right? Friends!”

“Whoa, girl, calm down,” Alya laughed, making a calming gesture with her hands. “I don’t think they’re together either, but there’s this huge crowd of desperate teens who are super lusting for them to be this stupid power couple. Ladybug’s too good for Chat Noir, in my opinion,” she dismissed, and Marinette snorted a little bit.

“I don’t think it’s about who’s good enough for who,” she said, “I just… I don’t think they seem interested in each other in that way.”

Alya gave her friend a skeptical look. “Are you serious? Have you seen how much Chat Noir flirts with her?”

“Just because he flirts doesn’t mean he’s genuinely interested.”

“I think he is,” a voice said from the seat in front, and Marinette tensed up as she realized Adrien had jumped in on their conversation. She looked at him, panicked, and he smiled sheepishly.

“But do you think they’re a couple?” Alya asked, leaning on her desk.

“W-Well,” Adrien stuttered, “We don’t know. They could have a private relationship.”

“I don’t think so!” Alya declared loudly, slamming a hand down on the desk. Adrien jumped back in surprise, and Marinette attempted to shush her. “Gather round, all ye nonbelievers,” she said dramatically, planting her hand firmly over Marinette’s mouth, “And feast your eyes on this video!”

By now, other stragglers from their class had caught on to the commotion and began to huddle around Alya’s desk. The student journalist scrolled up on her phone until she found the video clip she was searching for, and put the device on display for her classmates.

In the video, Marinette could see herself—Ladybug—swinging from her yoyo down onto the sidewalk. If she wasn’t mistaken, this video was just from a few days ago, right after the attack of the Akumatized ballerina. Marinette found herself drawing a blank, however, as to what Alya had asked her, or what she had answered. She’d been in too much of a hurry to get out of sight.

 _“Ladybug,”_ Alya called from behind the camera, _“Please, can I ask a quick question?”_

 _“Huh?”_ asked Ladybug on the screen. _“Sure, if it’s super quick.”_

Marinette could hear Alya squeal, and then seemingly compose herself. _“There’s been an influx of rumors on the Internet recently claiming that you and Chat Noir are a couple. Are they true?”_

 _“What?”_ Ladybug looked legitimately shocked, and Marinette cringed a little bit at the open expression she’d allowed. _“No, Chat Noir and I are partners and friends, but nothing more.”_

 _“Can you—“_ Video-Alya started.

 _“Nothing more to say, sorry. Bug out!”_ Video-Ladybug quickly aimed her yoyo at a nearby building and swung out of frame.

 _“There you have it, kiddos!”_ Alya had turned the camera towards her face, and she was smiling broadly. _“Straight from the bug’s mouth: there’s nothing happening between Ladybug and Chat Noir. That’s today’s scoop! Alya out.”_

“… And there you have it,” said Alya, a triumphant grin on her face. “Bona fide proof that Ladybug and Chat Noir are _not_ together.”

Nino snorted, “What, so _you_ can date Ladybug now?”

Alya shrugged, beaming still. “Maybe.”

“I’m a bit disappointed,” Rose sighed. “I always thought they had really good chemistry.” Marinette refused to look up from her lap, instead toying with the clasp of her coin purse, where Tikki was no doubt listening in on the whole conversation.

Alya rolled her eyes. “Well, Rose, if you want your fix of LadyNoir, look no further than these kids on my blog. I wish it wasn’t, but this blog post is by far my most popular one, and all these LadyNoir shippers are crying their eyes out in the comments section. It’s a bit excessive. Some of them are in total denial, too. Ugh,” she stuck her tongue out in disgust. “Look at this one. Mademoiselle Coccinelle. She’s commented like fifty times on this video.”

Marinette and the other students peered at the comments and reflexively cringed.

_“THIS IS FAKE!!! YOU ARE A LYING BITCH!”_

_“YOU FAKED THIS SOMEHOW I KNOW IT!!!! Ladybug and Chat Noir are perfect for each other and they are so in love and no fake dumbass video is going to change it!!!!!!!!”_

_“You dumb skank!!!!!!!!! You take this back or I stg will fuckin FINFD YOU AND KILL YOU!!!!!”_

“Oh my god,” Marinette whispered, horrified. She’d known some of Ladybug’s fans were obsessive, but this was… terrifying. She looked at the faces of her classmates, and saw a similar horror painted onto their expressions as well.

“Mhmm,” Alya agreed. “The dedicated ones are crazy.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve gotten more than a few death threats since the video was posted, but I can’t take them seriously. They’re just a bunch of hormonal teenagers. I mean what can they actually do, right?”

She laughed as she said it, but Marinette still felt uneasy as she scrolled through the death threats. Seeing her best friend being the target of Internet hate mail, all because of something she’d done as Ladybug, was hard to swallow. It was easy to forget sometimes that it wasn’t just magical cursed butterflies that could hurt people.

As if on cue, shrill laughter and screams sounded from outside the classroom windows. Marinette sighed.

“I’ll catch up with you later Alya, I have to go to the bathroom crazy bad.”


	2. Chapter 2

Océane didn’t go to school the next day.

After reading the terrible news and watching the video, Mademoiselle Coccinelle had left a few despair-fueled comments and gone to bed crying. Her parents had tried to wake her up as usual for school at 6:30, but she’d refused to get up. Normally she had to feign a cold or stomach flu for them to leave her alone, but she must have looked as miserable as she felt for them to put in as little effort as they did.

Seeing the anti-LadyNoir shippers on the online fan forums was nothing new, and Océane was conditioned to deal with them. Even seeing the LadyBlog betray her cause was okay, because it was only fan-run, and who said her word was law? But the video evidence. The video of Ladybug got to her. Ladybug’s word was law.

So it had to be fake. It could have been staged, or bribed, or edited, or an actress could have been merely playing the part of Ladybug! As she replayed the video over and over, she became more and more convinced of this. It wasn’t even a full interview! It was rushed! There was only one true way for Océane to save her world from falling apart.

###### 

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Marinette, now Ladybug, called out triumphantly as her translucent red-and-black fish bowl flew into the sky and burst into the familiar red healing energy that flowed through Paris.

“Pound it!” she and Chat Noir recited as they shared a fist bump. She gave him an extra smile. It had been a good and clean fight. He nodded his head towards the confused little boy the Akuma had left over, and they approached him together.

“Hey, kiddo,” Chat Noir said, holding the plastic shovel the Akuma had possessed, “This is yours, isn’t it?”

The little boy brightened. “My shovel!”

Ladybug giggled. “Yes. Make sure you take care of it. And be good, okay?” The boy nodded vigorously. “Now, are your parents nearby?”

“Ladybug!” a voice called out from down the street. “Ladybug, please, can I talk to you?” She turned to see a girl about her age running towards the heroes and the little boy. She had freckles dappled over her tanned face, and a crazed look in her eye. Ladybug nearly cursed in frustration, but restrained herself with the little boy so nearby.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time right now,” she told the fan through gritted teeth. “I have to get the boy back to his parents.”

“No you don’t, my dad’s right there!” the boy exclaimed, pointing to a man approaching from across the street.

Chat Noir smiled. “Why don’t you go meet him, kid?” He tugged Ladybug towards him and said in a hushed tone, “Do you want me to handle the fan girl?” He gestured to her Miraculous, which had already lost two polka dots.

She sighed. “No, I guess I can stick around for a couple more minutes. What did you want to ask me?” she addressed the fan girl.

“I need you to tell me about yesterday’s LadyBlog post!” the girl cried. “It’s fake, right? The admin doctored some footage or something! You and Chat Noir are dating?”

Ladybug growled under her breath. This was the last thing she needed. “No, we’re not,” she said flatly. “That video was exactly what happened.”

The fan looked absolutely heartbroken at her blunt response, but Marinette couldn’t really bring herself to care at the moment. Her earrings were beeping in warning. She hoped this wouldn’t take much longer.

“But you two were meant for each other!” she cried. “Th-there’s no way you couldn’t be together!”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Chat Noir sighed. “But the lady won’t be swayed.”

“Ugh, not you too!” Ladybug snapped. She turned towards the fan. “Chat Noir and I do not feel that way about each other. No matter how many people think we’re perfect together, we are never going to feel that way about each other! It’s not your fault, it’s not my fault, it’s not Chat’s fault, and it’s not the LadyBlog’s fault!” She breathed out, recollecting herself. “And Chat, I’d appreciate it if you’d quit fuelling the fire here.”

She didn’t turn to look at either one’s face when she threw her yoyo onto the nearest tall building. “I’m leaving,” she muttered, and launched herself skywards.

###### 

Adrien was, quite frankly, speechless. After one nosy question from a fan, and a bit of flirty teasing from Chat Noir, Ladybug had totally flown off the handle. _She probably saw some of those nasty comments on the LadyBlog,_ he thought guiltily. He hadn’t thought about Alya’s situation as his responsibility before just now.

That wasn’t to say it didn’t hurt to be rejected by the love of his life before he could even confess.

“Th-that… She was so mean!” the fan cried out beside him. “I-I just… I really wanted you two to be together… But…”

He sighed and scratched his head. “She’s a bit worked up right now. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t you love her, though?” the fan exclaimed. “The two of you are too compatible to be totally uninterested in each other!”

Oh, boy. “I may… or may not have feelings for her. But it’s not Ladybug’s job to reciprocate them. We’re both here to save Paris from Hawkmoth.”

“I knew you liked her! How could she be so inconsiderate and reject your feelings like that!”

“She’s not—“ he cut himself off from yelling. “I don’t think she knows yet.”

The fan looked close to tears at this point. “Oh, that’s adorable, but definitely not true. Anyone with eyes could see how into her you are. She’s killing your love slowly through pretend oblivion! How could you two be fighting like this?”

“It’s really fine,” he deadpanned.

“It’s not!” she shrieked, tears flowing. “You two belong together, and Ladybug needs to know that! How can’t she see what everyone else knows?! You need to tell her,” she told him seriously, “She needs to know that you two dating is the best thing for both of you, for the fans, for the city of Paris. You can change her!”

“What?” Chat Noir found himself much more confused than he’d been when Ladybug left the scene. He thought it best to play along. “I-I’ll try, I guess. I, uh,” he turned away, extending his staff to make for a quick escape. “I’m gonna split.”

Before the strange fan could get any words of protest out, he launched himself onto a nearby rooftop. Once safely behind a ledge, he released his transformation and caught Plagg in the palm of his hand.

“What the heck was that?” Adrien hissed.

“I dunno,” Plagg shrugged. “It’s tough being famous, I guess. Don’t let your lady love get a leg up on you, tough guy.” The Kwami patted his shoulder in mock comfort, and Adrien gently swatted him away.

###### 

It. Wasn’t. Fair!

The media truly was deceiving, Océane thought to herself, angrily knitting on a park bench. Everyone thought Ladybug and Chat Noir had such good chemistry, that they were both such nice people. But Ladybug was so in the dark about what was objectively best for her!

And even worse, she’d insulted Chat Noir’s feelings! Océane had known since they first appeared on the news that he had a thing for her, but she never expected their relationship to be this dysfunctional behind the scenes! Chat Noir, an innocent in love, hopelessly devoted to the stone-faced vigilante with no time for matters of the heart? It was the opposite of an ideal love story, more like something that belonged in a dumb soap opera.

It was times like these, when her thoughts were racing a mile a minute, that she truly found solace in the calming motions of knitting. Red yarn, to truly express her anger through this scarf. 

“I just wanted to help!” she snapped out loud.

So focused was she on her knitting that she hardly noticed the violet butterfly flitting towards her knitting needles.

_“Indeed, Yarn Spinner, love is a cruel and unpredictable sort of misery. You’ve been betrayed by your perfect heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, but you can fix their broken relationship. You can help them.”_

“I have the power to change everything.”

_“And all I ask in return is the Miraculouses of the two heroes who so disappointed you. Divine justice, wouldn’t you say?”_

Ladybug and Chat Noir belonged together, whether they liked it or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! Hope y'all enjoy. Please give feedback, if you see something you like or dislike!

“I understand why you were so upset, Marinette, but I still think you owe that girl an apology,” Tikki squeaked.

“Ugh, I will!” the girl groaned. “Later. I’m allowed to be mad right now.”

The Kwami sighed and settled on Marinette’s open palm. “Does it really bother you that much that people want you and Chat Noir to be together?”

“It’s not that by itself,” Marinette protested. “It’s the idea that all these people are telling me what’s best for me, how I should be acting and who I should be dating. All I’m supposed to do is save Paris from Akumas, right?!” She ran a hand through her bangs. “I wish it could be that simple.”

“Don’t let what other people say get to you, Marinette,” said Tikki.

Marinette smiled. “I’ll try my best.”

Putting the events from earlier behind her, Marinette spent the next half-hour or so on her physics homework. It was her worst subject by far, so she needed all the study time she could get. Tikki helped her wind down by painting her nails as she read.

Twenty pages into her reading, a knock sounded from Marinette’s trap door. Tikki hid in one of her friend’s pigtails as Marinette’s mother opened the hatch and peeked through.

“Oh good, you’re here,” Sabine breathed, a relieved smile on her face. “Dinner’s ready.”

Marinette smiled. “Where did you think I’d be?” she teased.

Sabine rolled her eyes and pinched her daughter’s cheek. “Well, it seems I can never know with you!” she chided. “Now that you’re a teenager, I suppose it’s only natural that you’re everywhere but home, getting caught up in boy drama and Akuma attacks!”

Marinette giggled nervously. “L-Ladybug always fixes everything, though, so we’re never in any real danger…”

“Tell that to my doctor, young lady! Every time your school gets attacked I lose three years off my life!” Sabine teased. “I’m glad to know you’re safe here while that monster’s tearing apart by the Louvre.”

“Yeah… What?!” Marinette jumped off her seat. “There’s an Akuma at the Louvre?”

“Mhmm, it’s all over the news. Everyone’s saying that Ladybug and Chat Noir are later than usual.”

Marinette toyed with her pigtails nervously. “Ah, yeah, that’s weird. Um, Mama, can I eat my dinner up here? I’m kind of in a zone with my physics homework and I don’t want to interrupt it.”

Sabine smiled gently. “Oh, I never thought I’d hear those words coming out of my Marinette’s mouth. Sure, sweetheart, I’ll be right back up with a plate for you.”

Marinette quickly shoveled her food into her mouth, knowing there was no time to investigate her enemy beforehand. No matter the villain, there was a job to be done, and nobody else could do it but Ladybug.

“Tikki, spots on!”

###### 

Adrien was sitting at his desk, mulling over the events of the day, when his phone started ringing. A custom ringtone he’d set for Chloe.

A little on edge, he accepted the call. “Hey Chloe, what’s up?”

“Sorry, lover boy, but Chloe’s my girl now,” a high-pitched voice sneered on the other side of the line. “I know you two had it going for a long time, but I’m afraid we were simply fated to be.”

Adrien paused for a few seconds, unsure how to respond, when he finally placed the voice. _“Sabrina?”_ he asked in disbelief.

“That’s the future Mrs. Bourgeois to you, Agreste!” said Sabrina. “She’s _totally_ over you now, right, Chloe?”

A muffled passing over of Chloe’s phone, and Adrien heard the shrill voice of the owner: “Sorry Adrikins, what we had was good for a while, but I’ve made my choice.”

“U-um, it’s okay,” Adrien stuttered, completely unsure of what to say for the second time that day.

“Aw, don’t sound so disappointed, hon. You’ll find your true love someday just like I did with my Sabby Chat. You have that model face; you’ll do just fine. Toodles!” And she hung up.

Adrien looked at the screen of his phone, dumbfounded. That was… definitely Chloe and Sabrina. Chloe had been flirting with him for years, and he hadn’t even thought she nor Sabrina were interested in women, but his phone’s call history didn’t lie.

“That was freaky,” Plagg stated bluntly, nibbling on some cheese.

“I’m happy for them,” said Adrien, “I think.”

“That’s nice of you, but when I said it was freaky, I meant Akuma freaky.” Plagg body-slammed himself down onto the power button on the remote control, and turned on the television.

_“The streets of Paris are filled with love,”_ said the reporter onscreen. _“New couples are forming left and right today, thanks to the intervention of what looks like an Akuma.”_ The screen switched to live footage of the park by Adrien’s school, showing a girl, definitely Akumatized, with pink skin, yarn-like red braids, and a white dress. In her hands were what looked like knitting needles, though they were rather flashy, with embellishments all over and energy crackling at the tips.

_“I am Yarn Spinner!”_ she declared. _“And I’ll be giving you all perfect happy endings, whether you want them or not!”_ Holding out her knitting needles, Yarn Spinner aimed at two young men hiding from her in the park below. There was a flash of red light, and the camera panned down to show the two of them now passionately embracing, totally ignoring the Akuma’s presence, a piece of sparkling red thread connecting their pinky fingers.

His stomach plummeting, Adrien realized that this girl must have been the same crazy fan from earlier in the day. He also noted, with a bit of relief, that Sabrina and Chloe would no longer be calling him to brag about their relationship once Ladybug purified her.

However, he was very confused as to the villainous intent of Yarn Spinner. All she seemed to be doing was making people fall in love with each other. Though this was certainly annoying, Adrien was dubious as to how this could really cause any major damage, much less motivate a superhero to give up their Miraculous.

Nevertheless, there was a job to be done, and nobody who could do it other than Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Plagg, claws out!”

###### 

It wasn’t hard to find where Yarn Spinner was wreaking havoc. Following the trail of lovey-dovey couples in the Akuma’s wake, Ladybug moved as quickly as she could across the rooftops. She found Yarn Spinner cornering a young tourist couple by Notre Dame.

“The chemistry you two have is terrible, you know,” she trilled, “Look at you! Girlie, you’re way too good for him. Let me find you someone better…” she scanned the nearby area for someone to match her up with.

“P-Please don’t do this, I really love him, I do,” the girl pleaded.

At that, Ladybug decided to draw attention away from the poor tourists. “Yarn Spinner!” she called from her perch. “Your romantic ideals are not what’s best for the people of Paris. If you won’t stop, then I’m going to have to make you.”

Turning to face her, the Akumatized girl grinned devilishly. The telltale butterfly-mask flickered onto her face for a few seconds before disappearing. “Ladybug,” she purred, “I’ve been waiting for you.” She raised her knitting needles to the sky. “Just try and stop me now, but once I give you your happy ending, you’ll finally see what’s best for you! Just like everyone else.”

The needles sparked red at the tips, and Ladybug quickly jumped back to dodge her enemy’s attacks. One after the other, the beams of light followed her across the roof until she was cornered, nowhere near enough that she could swing quickly. Reacting to one last zap from the needles, she instinctively flipped herself so that she was hanging on the edge of the roof, where she’d be protected from attacks for a few sweet seconds.

“Come on, Chat Noir, where are you?” she hissed quietly. She knew she was late herself, but how late was her partner going to be? She couldn’t do a mission like this by herself.

“Ah!” she cried as she saw him in the distance, bounding towards them with his baton at full speed. “There you are!”

“There you are!” Yarn Spinner sang at the same time, and Ladybug looked to see she was now completely exposed to her range of attack. Her eyes widened when she saw that one knitting needle was aimed at her, and the other at Chat Noir. Quickly reacting, she used her yoyo to grapple onto a distant object on the roof, flying away from Yarn Spinner’s aim.

With her yo-yo being used for grappling, however, she was completely vulnerable. Yarn Spinner had quicker hands than she’d expected.

_I failed,_ she thought, and fell onto the roof with a thud.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this story hasn't been active for literally 5 months. College is hard. I'm not as bug-crazy as I was when I started this fic, but I'm going to still try and finish it! Thanks for being so patient!

Marinette opened her eyes reluctantly to see a strand red yarn tied to her pinky finger, extending away from her to some unknown destination. She searched her body and her mind, trying to determine if anything was different, if she’d been affected as the civilian victims had. If Chat Noir could be affected by Akuma powers, couldn’t she as well? It was impossible that she would go completely unscathed… but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what was different.

“I don’t know what that was supposed to do, Yarn Spinner,” she challenged, feeling confident, “but it’s not going to stop me from taking you down here and now!”

Yarn Spinner grinned and pointed a gloved finger in a distant direction. “I think your soul mate over here might beg to differ!” she trilled.

“M-My _what?_ ” she sputtered, turning in the direction the villain pointed. And her heart plummeted from her chest into her stomach.

Chat Noir was leaping towards them, a challenging grin on his face and his hair tousled by the wind. Ladybug felt herself inexplicably blushing, and clutched her chest only to feel her heart beating twice as fast as it should have been.

He was so damn dreamy.

“Sorry I’m late. I didn’t miss anything, did I, my lady?” he said, getting into a fighting stance beside her.

Ladybug, on the other hand, was in the opposite of a fighting stance, instead pigeon-toed and weak-kneed. All of a sudden, she felt far less like a superhero and more like a love-struck schoolgirl. 

“Hmm…? Oh, uh!” she stuttered, startled at her space-out. What was wrong with her?! “D-did you… I’m sorry, what?” Her face went hot with embarrassment. How could a heroine of Paris not even communicate properly with her partner?

Her really cute partner.

God. Look at his hair.

“I said, ‘did I miss anything?’” Chat Noir repeated. “Geez, Bugaboo, you a bit hard of hearing today?”

Ladybug couldn’t respond to either question, because her brain had just been overloaded. Not only had her cute, dreamy partner shown concern for her in the middle of the battlefield, he’d called her that nickname! Truly, she was in heaven.

###### 

“Ladybug, what’s wrong with you?!” Chat Noir yelled. Unlike usual, his partner was not delivering her regular snappy one-liners and jumping about. Instead, she was spaced, stuttering, and blushing redder than her costume. She didn’t look ready for battle at all; she was just standing there at this point, dragging her toe in circles in front of her and giggling to herself.

He had to admit, she was pretty cute like this.

But not ready for battle. Which they were currently in.

“Oh, nothing’s wrong with her!” Yarn Spinner sang above them, flying in happy circles. “She’s just a girl in love~!”

“In _love?_ ” Chat snapped his head towards his partner, who covered her blushing face with her hands. She was under Yarn Spinner’s effects then!

“Mhmm! She finally loves her little kitty cat back! I told you earlier that you two were meant for each other, and now you can live happily ever after!”

Several emotions washed over him at this moment: first, and most shameful, was elation, because, well, from the sounds of it, Ladybug was in love with him, and that was only all he ever wanted. Protectiveness, for his partner was now confirmed not in any condition to be fighting and purifying Akumas, and needed to be taken somewhere to recuperate. And panic, because if Ladybug, who had the power of absolute luck, could be hit so hard by this Akuma, who was to say he wouldn’t be next if he didn’t do something fast? 

_It wouldn’t be the first time,_ he thought with some embarrassment.

And if they were both lovesick idiots, then Hawkmoth would surely get their Miraculouses without a fuss.

“Although,” Yarn Spinner continued, and he snapped to attention. “I’m wondering why you’re not under my spell as well. You have the thread of fate on your finger.” 

He looked to his pinky finger and noted that, yes, there was a piece of red yarn tied between him and Ladybug. 

“But you’re not behaving any different. Curious.” Yarn Spinner’s expression turned crazed. “I suppose I’ll just have to keep on zapping you to pound it in your little kitty cat head.”

Quickly, Chat Noir grabbed his partner by the waist and, hauling her up on his shoulder, used his baton to launch them away from the area. 

Yarn Spinner was upset behind them. “Argh, no, come back, I have to get you two together! And I have to get your Miraculouses!”

He could hear the attacks she was firing behind them, and he took this as a cue to run even faster. Luckily, as she chased them, Yarn Spinner quickly became distracted by other unlucky souls they passed who needed her red string of fate. Chat decided to set up cover in the very school they so often fought Akumas in, and set Ladybug down on the floor of his homeroom classroom. Not that she’d know that.

“Sorry about that, Ladybug,” he said through pants. “I had to get us out of there before things got worse.”

Ladybug’s eyes flickered between his face and the ground at a rapid speed, the blush on her face overwhelming. “I-it’s okay,” she squeaked.

He grimaced. Was Yarn Spinner’s spell so potent that she couldn’t even talk to him? Or was this just how Ladybug acted around someone she had a crush on? That was a hard concept to swallow, he thought with a wince. If that was true, then there was no way that she reciprocated his feelings.

“Um,” he started, trying to take charge, “We need to purify the Akuma and get you back to normal. Any ideas?”

“I, um,” said Ladybug. “N-normal?”

“Yeah, normal,” Chat repeated. “You’re affected by the Akuma right now. That’s why we have the red yarn and you’re all goo-goo for me?” He held up their hands and plucked at the taut thread between them.

“N-no!” Ladybug yelped, and he jumped a bit in surprise. “I… I love you, Chat Noir!” Chat’s heart almost slammed right out of his chest and onto the floor. “I’ve… I’ve always felt this way, I just… didn’t realize it until now.” She looked up at him imploringly, a familiar strength now behind her eyes. “I don’t want to change the way things are right now. I want to stay with you.”

“Wh…” His heart, still on the ground, was now flopping about and gasping for air. He was already knocked for a loop by the straightforward confession from the love of his life, but what she was asking of him couldn’t be done. Though it hurt, he knew he had to reject her. “No! You don’t feel this way about me. This is all because of the Akuma!”

“Y-you… Don’t you love me back?” Ladybug asked in a small voice, and his heart broke.

“I… Look, I’m only saying this because you probably won’t remember afterwards.” He took a deep breath. “I do love you back. I’ve had a crush on you practically since the day we met, and there’s nothing more that I’d like than to be with you.” Her face lit up in the most adorable smile, and he closed his eyes, swallowing. “But we can’t right now. Before being… a couple,” his voice cracked on the word ‘couple,’ “we have to be Paris’s heroes. We can’t get distracted.”

“N-no! I don’t want to!” Ladybug protested, tears budding at the corners of her eyes. “I’m sick of being Ladybug, of being the responsible one and doing what’s best for people, I want to be selfish for once!”

“Ladybug…” he started, reaching to embrace her. At the last minute, he simply placed his hand on her shoulder. Like a _friend_ would. “I’m going to get some fresh air. Can you… _please_ think about it more while I’m gone? It’s really important.”

She sniffled and nodded quietly. “Hurry back,” she whimpered.

Adrien slammed the door behind him with force. He leaned against it heavily, as if there was no way Ladybug could get to him from the other side. It was embarrassingly difficult to resist her advances. He’d have to figure out some way to get her focused and willing to purify the Akuma so they could get back out on the scene.

“Ch-Chat Noir?!” a familiar voice cried. He turned to see Mylène, his classmate, standing there in awe.

“Ah, hey there!” he greeted awkwardly.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out fighting the Akuma?” she asked, wringing her hands together.

“Yeah, there were some complications with that…” he laughed. “But Ladybug and I will be on the scene soon enough! Just here to regroup.”

“Ah, o-okay. I hope everything’s alright. It’s crazy out there.”

A shadow appeared from around the corner, and another classmate of theirs, Ivan, approached, several bags of snacks in his big hands. “Hey Mylène, do you want some animal crackers?”

“Oh, yeah, thanks!” Mylène replied, and reached into the bag he offered. It was then that Chat noticed something crucial, and he let out a yelp of alarm.

Ivan looked at him like he was crazy, and held the bag in his direction. “Uh. You can have some too, Chat Noir, if you want?”

“You two have the string! You were affected by Yarn Spinner’s spell, too!” he pointed at the red yarn connecting their hands, looking back and forth between theirs and his own, which had phased through the door that separated him and the lovestruck Ladybug. “But you’re not acting… You’re not all… lovey-dovey and stuff?”

The two of them blushed and looked away from each other briefly, before holding hands tightly. “We, um…” Mylène started.

“I don’t think she knew it when she did it, but we were already together when she… uh, zapped us,” Ivan explained. “So we have the string, but I don’t think anything else happened. Not like it did with other people, anyway.”

Mylène nodded. “The string’s a bit annoying, but I don’t feel any different.”

“So if you’re already in love with the person she connects you to,” he tried to piece together, “You’re not affected by the needles’ power?”

Ivan and Mylène both immediately began blushing and babbling about if ‘in love’ was the best word to use, their relationship was just starting after all and while it was going well they didn’t want to take things too fast, but Chat Noir had already marched back to the classroom and closed the door behind him.

“We don’t need a plan to beat the Akuma,” he breathed, a grin growing on his face. “We have a secret weapon.”

Ladybug looked at him wide-eyed. Chat held his hand out to her. “Are you with me?” he asked, hopeful.

Ladybug took his hand, her face growing red once more. “I can’t just say no to you,” she mumbled. “I’ll purify Yarn Spinner. But can I ask for something in return?”

“Ah, sure! A-anything!” he said, an awkward smile on his face.

“I-I’d like to go on a date with you. After all this.”

“Uh,” Chat started. “I’m not sure if post-Miraculous-Ladybug you would be too fond of the idea…”

“I don’t care what I want later, it’s what I want now,” Ladybug said firmly. “Please promise.”

He sighed, knowing that no matter what he said now, he wouldn’t be going on a date with his lady. He put on a smile. “I promise.”

“Oh, and, um, one more thing, as, like a preemptive reward…” she trailed off, “Can I… Can I have a kiss? Just on the cheek!” she squeaked. Seeing Chat Noir’s widened eyes behind his mask, she backtracked. “I mean, you don’t have to, you already promised to go on a date with me, it’s just, I thought, maybe like a before-battle good luck charm or—“

“Okay,” he interrupted shakily. “I’ll do it.”

Ladybug shut her mouth and clenched her eyes shut, looking as nervous as he felt. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He leaned in slowly, debating between savoring the moment and trying to quickly get it out of the way. Before he knew it, his lips were touching the love of his life’s cheek, and before he knew it, she’d grabbed his face and turned it into a kiss on the lips.

Dumbstruck, Chat Noir stood mouth agape. Ladybug giggled like a schoolgirl and wiggled happily. She opened a window, and, looking back at him with spellbound elation in her eyes, threw her yoyo to grapple onto a nearby lamppost. “Are you coming, _chaton_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also if anyone knows how AO3 formatting works so when i transition between scenes i don't have to use the h6 html thing, please lmk.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated, or talk to me at my tumblr @jigglypuffpastries!!!


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